Kevin Pietersen saga won’t affect us, insists James Anderson

James Anderson insists the saga over
Kevin Pietersen’s future has not distracted England ahead of their Test series with South Africa.

Abset: England’s Kevin Pietersen (Picture: REUTERS)

The Test squad met up at the Kia Oval for their first training session since Pietersen announced his decision to quit international limited-overs cricket last month.

The debate over his future has been reopened in recent days after Pietersen’s camp talked with the England & Wales Cricket Board about a compromise which would see him return to play all forms of the game.

It is understood those have broken down and the 32-year-old will be left out of the provisional 30-man squad for this autumn’s World Twenty20 when it is named on Wednesday.

The issue, though, has been unwelcome for England ahead of the three-match series against the Proteas, which starts at the Oval on Thursday.

Anderson, though, insists the issue has not affected squad harmony.

‘Not at all,’ said the seamer. ‘He’s made headlines for a number of years for one reason or another and that’s probably going to continue until the end of his career. We don’t really talk about that in the dressing room. We just concentrate on the cricket.

‘The ECB have got much better in the last few years at handling certain situations. They’ve handled it brilliantly at the minute and I’m sure they’ll continue to do that.’

Anderson also believes the focus on Pietersen may bring the best out him.

‘Generally when Kevin is making the headlines he tends to play very well. So hopefully he’ll continue the form he’s shown this summer and get us some big runs.’